In the ever-evolving landscape of parking management systems, Parker Technology is a key player in revolutionizing customer service for gateless parking operations. While 90% of our business derives from calls initiated in facilities with Parking Access and Revenue Control System (PARCS), at lane or pay-on-foot devices, our impact extends beyond traditional gate-secured facilities. This blog delves into the unique challenges faced by gateless facilities and how at Parker Technology we are not just adapting, but thriving in this paradigm shift.
Do Gateless Facilities Eliminate Customer Questions?
There’s been a lot of buzz lately about “gateless” parking facilities – garages doing away with gate arms and implementing camera-based systems for access control instead. While gateless parking can streamline ingress and egress, it also comes with distinct challenges. Our recent experience shows that even without gates and intercoms, parking customers still have questions and need help. This is where Parker Technology comes in. Our platform is built to assist parkers regardless of the garage setup.
The core of our expertise lies in streamlining communication between parking guests and customer service reps, whether a call is initiated at an intercom, via a phone number or with a QR code.
Gateless facilities, characterized by the absence of physical barriers, pose distinct challenges to customer experience and operational efficiency. Our strategic approach involves leveraging our knowledge management and workflow platform, designed explicitly for the parking industry. This platform ensures that customer service representatives, whether in-house or part of our call center, have instant access to the right information when addressing questions from confused or lost visitors.
Customer Service Remains King
We’ve all heard the question, “If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?” The same question holds true for parking. If parking operators remove the gates and intercoms, do their customers still get confused and need help? Our data says yes. The forefront of what we do at Parker Technology is to help the customer. Customer service is key. And this doesn’t stop with removing gates in your parking facility.
There are many questions surrounding the shift to a gateless facility.
- How many visitors are coming to your parking lot?
- Who are they reaching out to if they become lost or confused?
- Are you losing revenue due to patrons not paying, either from frustration or confusion?
We can answer these questions and more. If the only way a patron can understand that they parked in the wrong area is by receiving an expensive parking ticket, you’ve lost a customer for life. The goal of removing the gates was to save money on maintenance and staffing, but how much money are you losing in revenue? Is your signage clear? Are your pay portals obvious? The lack of a gate opens the opportunity for patrons to believe that their parking was free when that wasn’t the case.
Why not take a portion of your savings and invest in a customer service software platform? We aren’t looking for you to change your mind about going gateless; we want to help you make sure it was the right decision by offering the customer experience your patrons look for.
Our Value to Gateless Facilities
Our software platform was purpose-built for parking, regardless of whether there are gates and intercoms. Our knowledge management and workflow platform puts the right information at the right time at the fingertips of the customer service representative taking the call.
If you’re looking at a gateless system, or have already deployed it and want to speak with us about how we can help, send us a note or watch our gateless webinar recording.